The one thing I enjoyed the most about Tales from the Hood 2 was Keith David. The moment I saw his face, I knew that at least the wrap-around story would hold my attention. Mr. David has a strong screen presence and a resonant, unique voice and thus is the perfect choice for a storyteller. However, while I did enjoy his presence in the movie, the stories left a lot to be desired.

The first story, “Good Golly”, had a lot of promise. The Museum of Negrosity’s proprietor talked about the atrocities visited upon Blacks that the silly visitors (one black, one white) were making light of. I appreciated the reminder/history lesson of what Africans went through as slaves and as second class citizens in this country, much of which continues to this day. I also liked how the segment insisted that we in the present not make light of the past, but to learn from it. Excellent job on that part.

Then, the segment went downhill from there. I will not spoil it, but suffice to say I laughed out loud at what eventually transpired. Why? Because it came out of left field. There was no foreshadowing, no clues…it just happened. Yes, I understand the theme behind it, but honestly the execution left a lot to be desired. That is not to say I was not entertained, because I was.

The second segment, ”The Medium”, was my favorite. I loved the setup and the execution. The actor who played John Lloyd, the psychic nailed his role all the way through. (Fun fact, he also played Sal in Mad Men, and I liked him there too.) He hammed it proper, giving us a great performance in an interesting story.

“Date Night”, the third story was something most horror fans have seen in one form or another. The story was rudimentary and full of tropes. Absolutely nothing to write home about here.

The fourth segment, “The Sacrifice”. (long pause)….I truly hate to say this, but it seemed more of a hardcore after-school special than a segment in a horror movie anthology. Listen, I got the underlying message, I did. Great idea, poor execution. I also think this was the longest of the segments and I felt every single minute. This could have been a spectacular segment if the plot had been tightened a little more. The narrative was not as cohesive as it could have been, and the story suffered from it.

The end of the wraparound story was predictable, and the effects looked exactly like the effects in Halloween 3 (the lasers). And who didn’t know that Keith David was more than he seemed? The robot was pretty cool though.

The bottom line? I was entertained. I’m glad it was made, but it certainly was not on the level of the original Tales from the Hood. I would watch that before I watched this one again.

Let’s be honest. Given the huge number of gross-out, slash ‘em up films that are under “horror movie” genre, watching someone get stabbed, or hung or cut apart gets a little tedious. Blood and guts can be scary, yes, but the real “horror” is sometimes only in our minds: the stuff we can’t see, or even worse, the stuff we imagine we see.

Following this, and based upon a comment from one of my Facebook friends, I compiled a list of horror/scary movies in black and white that you may enjoy. Where possible, I’ve placed the date and time it’s on the air, but otherwise, I’m sure you can find them on either a streaming service or even on YouTube.

When I was a seventies child, these movies were perfect for a rainy Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and were scary enough to keep you awake with some nightmares for sure! So without further ado, here’s my list.

The Thing from Another World (1951) – I actually didn’t see this movie until I was an adult, and while it wasn’t super scary, it really creeped me out. James Arness is the “Thing” and at his height of 6’6” he was able to tower menacingly over the rest of the cast. A must watch for classic movie lovers. Available on archive.org.

The Invisible Man (1933) – Long before Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon, there was Claude Rains as the Invisible Man. This was Rains’s American film debut. Available on vimeo.

Cat People (1942) – Built around a woman who is cursed to turn into a panther, this movie is said to be the origin of the “jump scare”. It’s a moody, atmospheric piece that is both well-acted and well-written.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) – The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, based upon his novel of the same name. Exposed to both pesticides and radiation (poor fellow), the title character begins shrinking and no one can help him. I remember the battle with the cat as well as another “monster” that I won’t mention here.

House on Haunted Hill (1959) – The setup is simple. A millionaire offers 10k to be locked in a haunted house (presumably also located on a haunted hill) overnight. Seems simple right? But the house may have other plaaaaaans. It stars Vincent Price, which should be enough to compel you to watch it. Available on TubiTv.

Them! (1954) – Ants affected by none other than atomic testing, invade a New Mexico town with disastrous results. Great giant monster movie!

The Uninvited (1944) – If you’re a fan of haunted house/ghost stories, then this film starring Ray Milland (of Dial M for Murder) is for you. Slow, creeping horror.

The Night of the Hunter (1955) – More Gothic horror than supernatural horror, The Night of the Hunter is full of dread and gloom, enhanced by its stark black and white presentation. Robert Mitchum is the supposedly “God-fearing” preacher with LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles. Scary and picturesque.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) – No B&W horror movie list would be complete this super classic. Watch online here.

Crypt TV’s THE LOOK-SEE is a remarkable, well put together horror web-series on YouTube. The first season surpassed my expectations, as the series as a whole was downright amazing. The monster by itself was already terrifying, but the music, atmosphere, and acting just took it to a whole new level. Typically, online tv shows don’t fare too well, as they are usually sloppily thrown together, with little to no thought put into them. They are un-enjoyable to the point where you can’t even sit down and make fun of it, because of how horrible it is. That’s not the case with these short films.

To begin, the Look-See’s main objective is to force people to let go of the past. This monster targets unsuspecting victims, and uses the phrase “If you yourself cannot release, then it will come and take a piece”, meaning if they are not able to let go of a traumatic event, he will come and take of piece of them that is connected to that occurrence. It might sound a little bit confusing, but as the season goes on, you can tell why he takes the parts that he does.

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For example in the first episode of season one, a woman was not able to let go of her failing marriage, and didn’t get rid of her wedding ring in time. The Look-See monster confronted her, and took away her hand. Her hand was the thing that was holding her back from moving on and starting fresh, so he took a piece of her. The idea, alongside the circumstances and the monster is one of the most creative things I have seen in awhile.

I applaud Crypt TV for their ability to come up with such an amazing web-series, as every episode is so engaging and intriguing. I highly recommend this show, words cannot explain how much I enjoyed the first season, and how delighted I am that there will be a second!

Summary: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. (from IMDB)

Yes. The film is over ten years old, but I wanted to include some of the horror movies that made a splash in more recent times. Also, I rather liked Paranormal Activity. It’s a charming little film that doles out the scares just enough to keep the you interested. There are two main characters, Katie and Micah, a couple who have a cute little home except for the issue of what may or may not be an issue with haunting.

The film is shot in POV style, which is a fancy way of saying one of the characters has a camera and makes it their business to film any and everything thing. In this case, it goes with the plot, since Katie and Micah want to see what’s happening while they’re asleep.

I won’t give away the movie on the off chance that you haven’t seen it by now, but suffice it to say I did enjoy this movie, although I feel the characters made some questionable choices. I also felt that Micah was kind of a jerk at some points, as he deliberately went against Katie’s wishes in a few instances. And I think that in doing that, he was the cause of the final events.

But if he followed all the rules, there wouldn’t be a movie, now would there?

I’d also like to note that I’ve seen both endings, and personally, I can see the value in both. I can also see why they did the modified ending, to open up that sequel door!

I recommend Paranormal Activity, if you haven’t seen it already. It’s worth it to see what all the fuss was about.

Summary: Three friends stumble upon the horrific origins of a mysterious figure they discover is the root cause of the evil behind unspeakable acts. (from IMDB)

There’s an old song, from the seventies, that says, “Where do I begin/To tell the story of how sweet a love can be?”

In this case, I would change the words to: Where do I begin/to tell the story of how crap this film it be?

The movie begins in what looks like the 1960s where some dude with glasses is walking around with a shotgun chanting “Don’t think it, don’t say it” and systematically shooting everyone in his house and finally himself. Okay. That’s fine. It is a horror, after all.

Fast forward to the present time, and the good ol’ pack of those kind of young folks that you see in horror all the time characterize themselves for the viewer. Hopefully, this briefest of character sketches will make us feel sorry for them when things go woefully wrong. Spoiler alert: I’m just here for the Bye Bye Man. Also, I see you black dude!

There are several good things about the movie. The atmosphere is appropriately creepy and foreboding. The dark cinematography, even over the daytime scenes, give you a feeling that anything can happen at any time. There are some jump scares that are kind of effective and the monster/killer itself gives off a type of Freddy Krueger vibe.

That being said, the film did not quite make it for me. It wasn’t that the film was so bad, in fact, it had an interesting premise and the actors (for the most part) were adequate. It just felt like something was missing. They seemed to be playing fast and loose with the plot, which made some of the reasoning behind characters’ motivations hard to follow.

All in all, I won’t turn you away from seeing this movie. As I said, the premise was intriguing and parts of the movie were effective. Go into this with the thought you’re just going to have fun, and you will.